To all of you that Nay-Say Star Wars Galaxies

[____________Parcifal]

To everybody I've encountered that has doubted the verasity and sincerity of those developing this title, just read (or skim) this:

http://boards.station.sony.com/ubb/s...ML/075687.html

And tell me what other companies have extended such considerations to the community this far before launch. Hell, Funcom doesn't even let developers post here at all; Cz and Cosmik are just CS reps, right?

Don't take this as a "mine is better then yours" post, i'm got much foundness in my heart for Funcom *thus far*.. but I think many people have glossed over SWG out of fear or ignorance of what the actual developmental enviroment has been like.


While I'm at it:

Here are some Beta Tester Comments

and a Cute Story about AI related by another developer. They post quite often on our forum.

Check out This Developer Post Tracker to see what I mean (plus you can find Other Beta Test Stories located there as well).

[____________Parcifal]

Key quote from the above link for those not inclined to read through it:

In fact, today we had our first “official” meeting between SOE and LucasArts to discuss our CS standards, practices and procedures.

Notice no mention of the dreaded name "Verant" (or whatever the hell it is, I have no love for them either).

Anyway, a few months ago I had some very detailed posts asking for your input on CS (and not surprisingly, most people admitted to never having to deal with CS at all ). I’ll likely do another round of it in a few months. We do want to know what you feel the problems are so that we can make sure our system addresses them.

Isn't that sweet, they do care.

[_______________Xuric]

Bye.

Oh. And it's easy to be impressive when you don't have an actual public product to bring you down.

[lilnymph]

Originally posted by Xuric
Oh. And it's easy to be impressive when you don't have an actual public product to bring you down.

Hehe, I have made this point a few times myself.

hugs

lilnymph

[____________Parcifal]

Oh. And it's easy to be impressive when you don't have an actual public product to bring you down.

???

It IS right in front of me, since i am not speaking of the game but the dedication of the developers to the community (which HAS been made manifest). Surprising you couldn't get that, you might have somebody look into that myopia of yours.

[_______________Xuric]

I see just fine, thanks for your concern though. You mentioned the 'dedication' of their Customer Service, I say it's easy to be impressive without an actual public product to bring you down. You don't see the connection? Try having thousands of adolescent males whining at you daily and see how 'dedicated' you remain.

And it's 'veracity' not verasity. Just in case you need your eyes checked, I thought I'd point that out. Spectacles are cheap nowadays, I hear.

[Gearbox]

Month 1:
"I heard <insert MMORPG> will wash your car and feed your dog for you! It will be so amazingly amazing that you will never leave your house again!!"


Month 2:
"OMG! It comes out next month! Prepare to die, <every other MMORPG>!! So sorry your game is dying all you <players of every other MMORPG>!! HA! "


Month 3:
"It's pretty fun but stuff is missing- I'm sure it will be better when the missing stuff is in."


Month 4:
"OMG, <MMORPG developer>!!! I gave you my money and I believed in you, but you crapped all over my dreams!!! I HATE YOU!!!!"


Month 5:
"I heard <insert MMORPG> will wash your car and feed your dog for you! It will be so amazingly amazing that you will never leave your house again!!"

Rinse, lather, repeat.

[_______________Xuric]

So true, so true. *sniff*

[Sidhelin]

Yeah, Yeah so true.

[Panther256]

To be truthful I have my share of apprehension regarding the promises from the SWG development team... However I would have to point out that it is being developed by a large, well-financed company.

Of all the MMORPG's I've played to date I will have to honestly say that UO had the best long-term gameplay. It bodes well that many of the original UO developers are on the SWG project. From the features and posts you can see the unmistakable imprint of these developers and what it will mean for SWG gameplay. The only two issues I ever had with UO was the housing shortage and the rampant PK'ing without suitable penalties. Both issues are being addressed in SWG in a reasonable fashion (to my mind anyway).

On to AO: I was involved in AO beta, pre-ordered and played at release. Within 6 weeks I had been to every zone in the game, taunted my enemies in their home cities and finished hundreds of repetitive missions. At that point I realized that aside from a few over-camped static missions, I had done all there was to do in AO at that time... And there were still major bugs. So I left AO for many months until I was given a month free offer... I came back for 1 month. Aside from a few graphic changes, a few new static missions and bug fixes... The game was the same. However I did enjoy the ability to hook up with other players for missions and such.

I signed back up again this month (and already cancelled). Part of the gameplay enjoyment for my group of friends revolved around exploring and fighting through territory. That aspect has all but been removed with the new Whompa's going everywhere. Aside from that, the game is essentially the same... Do missions for coins and leveling... But there is one difference: There is no one to group with anymore. I've been to all the old hotspots (and a few new ones) and there is no one there... Ghost town... Does wonders for stability (no lag) but sux for grouping. Everywhere I went I was shocked to note that the servers were empty... There were a few stragglers here and there but nothing even close to what it was even 6 months ago.

I think the three biggest issues that destroyed AO are:
No Land Ownership (yet, its coming in the expansion... We'll see how its implemented)
PvP has no penalty/reward (not likely to change in the near future. In AO it never mattered to me if I got PK'ed... You couldn't really lose anything at all)
No Economy (where's the ability to become a vendor and sell the wares you create... Unless you enjoy spamming the channels for buyers)

So net result is this... Take the gameplay of UO, the graphics of AO, the Universe of Star Wars... Mix them all up and you get Star Wars Galaxies.

I said this about AO during beta while reading the dev posts and such (said to my closest friends): "It looks like AO is going to avoid the mistakes of all previously released MMORPG's, graphically it looks awesome... Lets do the beta and if its as good as it looks, lets buy it!". Unfortunately AO did not deliver on all its promises. Even so I gave it several tries spaced approximately 6 months apart. No more for me. I will most likely dissappear after this post to never be heard from again (stop smiling dang it!).

I have as high hopes for SWG as I had for AO. The biggest difference(s) I would point out are: SWG is very well financed, being monitored by LucasArts, has experienced MMORPG developers and can/should learn from other MMORPGS like AO, UO, EQ, AC, etc. Only time will vindicate my faith in the SWG team or prove me a fool.

If you are staying with AO, enjoy and have fun. If you are moving to SWG, I'll see ya there!

Panther256

"There are only 10 kinds of people in the world... Those that understand Binary and those who don't"

[__________Nursebetti]

Well thought out post Panther256...

I must say that th eonly reason I keep playing AO is the friends I have there. The same missions over and over, the loot whores, the new mobs that take an army to kill (good luck finding the army), the bugs that persist from day one, etc., etc.

SWG looks to be promising, the ability to gain skills without having to fight, a deep story universe, and the financial backing of a huge company. Despite my distaste for Verant and the BS thye pulled with EQ for a long time (the 'Vision") they now have a harsh task master over looking them, Lucasarts. If the game does not make George happy they will know about it.